Adjustable hinge mechanism



MMIII v INVENTOR.

HenryE.HubbS BY @um 1f/M H. E. HUBBS ADJUSTABLE'HING MECHANISM FiledJuly 14, .1948

Nov. i4, 1950 ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 14, 1.950

ADJUSTABLE HINGE MEoHANlsM Henry E. Hubbs, Shelby, Ohio, assignor` toThe Shelby Spring Hinge Co., Shelby, Ohio, a corporation of OhioApplication July 14, 1948, Serial No. 38,599

7 Claims.- (C1. 16-129) .Theinvention relates generally to hinges forswinging doors and more particularly to double acting checking floorhinges.

Such checking door hinges ordinarily include a checking mechanismembedded in the floor with an upwardly projecting stud which is receivedin a socket in a hinge arm secured on the underside of the door at itshinge side. The door is installed after the checking mechanism has beenembedded in the fioor, and it is therefore necessary to provide someadjustment of the door relative to the hinge arm so that the door is inproper position when the hinge arm registers with the stud of thechecking mechanism.

lWith wooden doors, some adjustment is had by planing oi the edge of thedoor, but with glass and metal doors, this cannot be done, and a.positive adjusting .means must be provided. Also, conventional glassdoors have an adjustment at the top hinge, and a corresponding ad'-justment at .the oor hinge is necessary. Certain .prior adjusting meansfor checking door hinges for glass doors have constituted merelyproviding a hole in the hinge arm which receives va pin at- .tached tothe` door, and a set screw is screwed intoA the inner en'd of the armand engages the pin for adjusting the -position of the door relative tothe arm. Such prior adjusting means have numerous disadvantages, becausethe vibration of `the door in operation gradually loosens the set screw,de'- stroying the adjustment of the door and allowing it to sag at itsfree edge. Moreover, the; vset screw does not hold 'the pin in xedposition unless the other end of the hinge arm is secured tightly to thedoor, with the result that the hinge arm is apt tordrop out ofthe doorwhen `being installed, and the door has a tendency toward limitededgewise movement when in operation.

It is an object of the present invention to-pro e `vide an improvedadjustable hinge mechanism yfor double acting checking floor hingeswhich -,ov ercomes-all of the difliculties of prior adjustingAnotherobject is to provide animproved ad- A further Objectis to providean improvedadjustable hinge mechanism which will maintain the door inadjusted position during operation without permitting any sagging of thefree edge of the door.

,Another object is to provide an-improved ad-v` 2 justable hingemechanism in which none of the parts can dropout of the bottom of thedoor while-it is being installed.

A still further object is to provide an improved adjustable hingemechanism having novel adjusting means which alwaysholds the hinge armand door in Xed adjusted position Without permitting any edgewisemovement of the door.

Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improvedadjustable hinge mechanismyfor a double acting checking oor hinge, whichmechanism is Acompact and inexpensive to manufacture, which is adaptedto be installed on standard checking floor lhinges, and which is easilyinstalled and adjusted without special tools.

These and other objects are accomplished by vthe parts, constructions,arrangements, and combinations which comprise the present invention, thenature of which is set forthin the following .generalstatement and apreferred embodiment of which is set forth in the following descriptionand illustrated in the accompanying drawings,

and which is particularly `and distinctly pointed out and set forth inthe appended claims-,forming part hereof. Y I

In generalr terms,the adjustable hinge mechanism of the presentinvention preferably includes a hinge arm having an elongated slot forreceiving a depending p in Yattached to the ,underside of the door,anmangle bracket slidable endwise of the arm and having a hole receivingtheppin andv registering withsaidfslot, there being a screwadjustably,inountingfthe angle bracket ongthe armandfricton Washer.means for holding the screw in1adjustedposition. -Y

Referring to the, drawing` forming part` hereof in whichhapreferredwembodiment ofthe invention isshewn brewer of; example;

f, Figure VV1 isa frontelevation ofthe bottomfpart Qf-the-glassidorembodying the improved ad- .justable hinge arm,` partly in section,as on line l-l,Fig-2;,"' Figure 2 is abottomplan view thereof with thestudof the checking mechanism removed;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan sectional View as `on line 3 3, Fig. 1jand -inthedrawing as incorporated in a double acting checking floorhinge for a glass door, but it will be understood that it may be appliedto other doors such as metal doors, without departing from the scope ofthe invention.

The glass door shown may have a glass panel 5 which is preferablyprovided with a rounded edge 6 on its hinge side, and the panel ismounted in usual fashion in an upwardly open metal channel member 'Iwhich is secured as by welding to a downturned channel member 8extending along the bottom edge of the door. The glass panel 5 is set inthe door by means of a usual binder or grouting material indicated at 9,and the inner edge of the channel I is preferably rounded as indicatedat Ill to conform to the rounded edge 6 of the panel. Likewise, theexterior surface of the inner end wall I2 of the bottom channel 8 issimilarly rounded.

The checking mechanism fori the floor hinge is of conventionalconstruction and is therefore not shown except the part which protrudesabove the floor F, the checking mechanism being embedded in the iioor sothat its top plate is iiush 'with the floor surface. A boss-I3 projectsabove the floor from the checking mechanism and a tapered hinge stud I4projects upwardly from the boss |3. The hinge armis preferably a solidwith its sill when installed. Such securing means preferably includes anadjusting bolt IIv threaded through the outer end I8 of thearm I5 andextending through enlarged holes I9 in the channel-legs, there beinglarge washers interposed -between the channel legs and the head and nutof the adjusting bolt |'I.

The novel means for providing edgewise adjustment of the door relativeto the hinge arm preferably includes a cylindrical pin 2|' secured inanddepending from a bracketV plate 22-which is attached, as bycountersunk screws 23, to the underside of a mounting bar 24 secured .tothe top wall or web of channel 8. The bracket plate 22 preferably has aslot 25 registering with the open socket I5 to allow the upper end ofstud I4 to protrude abovev the hinge arm lI5 if necessary. The pin 2| isreceived in an elongated slot 26 extending vertically through the innerend of the hinge arm and a reduced end 2 I` is provided on the pin 2|for receiving a Washer 28 which is held lonthereduoed end byl a cotterpin 29. lAs sho-wn in Figs. 2 and 4, the washer 28 extends over theside-edges of lthe slot so as toprevent the arm '|5 from dropping offpin 2| before the-arm is positioned over the stud I4 of thecheclnngmechanism when the door is being installed;

A'I'hemeans for adjusting the pin 2| in the slot 28 so as to adjust thedoor edgewise of the arm |-5 preferably includes an angle bar 33, theupper leg 3| of whichvis slidable longitudinally of the arm I5 in arecess 32 in the upper surface thereof. The leg 3| is provided with acircular hole'33 through which the pin 2| extends, and the'outervertical leg 34 of the angle bar has an adjusting screw 35 mountedtherein. The adjusting screw 'is threaded into the end wall 35 of thehinge arm I5v and is rotatable in the leg 34 of the angle bar, so thatby turning the screw 35, the angle bar is moved longitudinally of thearm I5, which consequently moves the door edgewise relative to the arm.

Means for preventing the adjusting screw 35 from loosening or turning,due to vibration of the door in operation, preferably includes a splitwasher 3T interposed between the screw head and leg 34, and a frictionwashery 38 engirdling the screw in Aabutment with the inner surface ofthe leg 34. As shown, the end wall l2 of the bottom channel 8 isprovided with a suitable aperture 40 aligned with the screw 35, topermit the insertion of a screw driver from the exterior of the door,when it is Vdesired to turn the adjusting screw 35.. l

Accordingly, when the door is positioned with the socket I6 of the hingearm wedge-fitting over the stud I4 of the checking mechanism, the doormay be adjusted edgewise to or from the jamb 4I by turning the adjustingscrew 35 to move the pin 2I longitudinally in the slot 26. in the hingearm I5, the adjusting bolt I'I having been slightly loosened so that itcan move in the holesv I9. At any adjusted position, the screw 35v willstay put because of the washers 31 and 38, so that the door will remainin adjusted position in operation regardless of vibration, and `will notsag at its outer edge, as it` would tend to do if the adjusting screw35Y could work loose and allow the door to move edgewise of the sill.

Due to the fact that the angle adjusting bar 3d is always tightlyengaged around the pin. 2|, there can be no play or edgewise movement ofthe door in any adjusted position, because the adjusting means does'Vnot rely onengagement of the screw 35 with the pin 2|, in which case thepin could move between the screw 35 and the opposite end of the slot2,5. The washer 28' holds the hinge` arm |,5 in position during theinstalling operation, so that the` arm, |5 cannot drop out accidentallybefore it is positioned on the stud |4.

Accordingly, the improved adjustable hinge mechanism. overcomes all ofthe difficulties had withfp-rior constructions, and provides aninexpensive and easily installed adjusting hinge mechanism, whichisadapted for use with standard checking floor hinges without requiringspecial tools.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity,clearness andunderstanding, but .no unnecessary'limitations are to beimplied therefrom beyond the requirements of' the Vprior art, becausesuch Words are used for descriptive` purposes herein and are intended tobe broadly construed;

Moreover,- the' embodiment of the improved construction illustrated anddescribed herein is byway of example, and the. scope of the presentinvention is not limited to the-'exact details of construction. f

' Having now-described .thel invention, the construction, the operationand use of a preferred embodiment thereof, and the advantageous new anduseful results obtained thereby; the new and useful constructions, andreasonable mechanical equivalents thereoffobvi'ous'to those skilled inthe art, are set forth in the appended claims. l

I claim:

l. In a checking floor hinge for a door, adjustableiloor hinge mechanismincludinga Vpin depending from the bottom of the door, a hinge Aarmhaving an elongated slot receivingv said pin, an adjusting bracketslidably mounted von said arm and having a hole ttingsnugly 4around-saidpin and registering with-said slot, a screw adjustably connecting saidarm and bracket for relative movement in either direction edgewise ofthe door, and friction washer means on said screw for holding the screwin adjusted position.

2. In a checking floor hinge for a door, adjustable cor hinge mechanismincluding a pin depending from the bottom of the door, a hinge armhaving an elongated slot receiving said pin, an adjusting bracketslidably mounted on said arm and having a hole tting snugly around saidpin and registering withV said slot, and a screw adjustably connectingsaid arm and bracket for relative movement in either direction edgewiseof the door.

3. In a checking floor hinge mounted on the underside of a door andhaving a hinge arm extending edgewise of the door and detachablyconnected to a checking mechanism in the floor, said hinge arm having aslot elongated longitudinally of the arm, a pin secured to the bottom ofsaid door and extending into said slot, an adjusting bracket movablymounted on said arm and snugly engirdling said pin, a screw adjustablyconnecting the arm and bracket for adjusting the bracket longitudinallyof said arm in either direction, and friction washers on said screw forholding the screw in adjusted position.

4. In a checking floor hinge mounted on the underside of a door andhaving a hinge arm extending edgewise of the door and detachablyconnected to a checking mechanism in the floor, said hinge arm having aslot elongated longitudinally of the arm, a pin secured to the bottom ofsaid door and extending into said slot, an adjusting bracket movablymounted on said arm and snugly engirdling said pin, and a screwadjustably connecting the arm and bracket for adjusting the bracketlongitudinally of said arm in either direction.

5. In a checking floor hinge for a door, adjustable iioor hingemechanism including a pin on the bottom of the door, a hinge arm havingan elongated slot receiving said pin, an adjusting bracket slidablymounted on said arm and having a hole tting snugly around said pin andregistering with said slot, a screw adjustably connecting said arm andbracket for movement in opposite directions, and a washer on the end ofsaid pin and overlapping said slot for supporting said hinge arm.

6. In a checking floor hinge mounted on the underside of a door andhaving a hinge arm extending edgewise of the door and detachablyconnected to a checking mechanism in the floor, said hinge arm having aslot elongated longitudinally of the arm, a pin secured to the bottom ofsaid door and extending into said slot, an adjusting bracket movablymounted on said arm and snugly engirdling said pin, a screw adjustablyconnecting the arm and bracket for adjusting the bracket longitudinallyof said arm in either direction, and a washer on the end of said pin andoverlapping said slot for supporting said hinge arm.

7. In a checking iloor hinge mounted on the underside of a door andhaving a hinge arm extending edgewise of the door and detachablyconnected to a checking mechanism in the floor, said hinge arm having aslot elongated longitudinally of the arm, a pin secured to the bottom ofsaid door and extending into said slot, an angle bracket movably mountedon said arm and snugly engirdling said pin, a screw adjustablyconnecting said arm and angle bracket for adjusting the bracketlongitudinally of the arm in either direction, and a washer frictionallyengirdling said screw and abutting said angle bracket for holding saidscrew in adjusted position.

HENRY E. HUBBS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,050,092 Beall Jan. 14, 19132,027,888 Solomon Jan. 14, 1936 2,441,221 Eckel May 11, 1948

